Cayman Islands Extends Tax Information Assistance to 20 Countries, Including Major OECD Trading Partners

GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman - The Cayman Islands Government today announced that it now has in place
arrangements that provide access to comprehensive tax information assistance
with 20 countries, including the majority of Cayman’s major trading partners.

Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands and South Africa now join eight other
countries afforded tax information assistance to OECD standards under a
unilateral mechanism, which does not require a bilateral treaty. The Cayman
Islands also has eight bilateral tax information agreements, which include
recent agreements with the Nordic countries as well as an existing agreement
with the U.S. signed in 2001.

The unilateral mechanism, introduced in 2008, provides an additional mode
for the Cayman Islands to deliver on its commitment to transparency and
exchange of information in tax matters.

“The Cayman Islands took the proactive step of introducing the unilateral
mechanism for the provision of information in tax matters, as a complement to
our bilateral negotiation programme,” said Cayman Islands Leader of
Government Business, the Honourable Kurt Tibbetts. “We recognised the need to
increase the pace at which we could enter into tax information arrangements,
while offering a phased approach to our negotiating partners under our
bilateral programme in appropriate circumstances. We look forward to
continuing this progressive approach.”

In combination, the arrangements noted above cover four of the seven G-7
states and 17 of the 30 OECD member states.

Based on its current negotiating programme - which reflects OECD
countries (including significant trading partners) that have indicated
interest in tax cooperation arrangements - the Cayman Islands aims in the
following months to enter into arrangements with a number of additional
countries, including the remaining G-7 and five other OECD member states.

Notes to Editors

- The Cayman Islands’ eight bilateral tax information
agreements cover the following countries: the United States, Denmark,
Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
- The Cayman Islands’ unilateral arrangement for tax information
assistance currently covers 12 countries, namely Austria, Belgium, Czech
Republic, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovak
Republic, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
- The Cayman Islands has been an active participant in the OECD
Global Forum on Taxation, having been one of the first non-OECD
jurisdictions to adopt (in 2000) the principles of transparency and
exchange of information in tax matters, based on a level playing field.
As an early adopter, the Cayman Islands has been involved in the
development of the OECD’s standards for effective exchange of
information in tax matters and is a member of the Global Forum’s level
playing field sub-group, along with other OECD and non-OECD colleagues.
- In addition to arrangements under the OECD initiative, the Cayman
Islands has bilateral tax treaties with the 27 EU member states under
which it reports savings income information, pursuant to measures
equivalent to the European Union Savings Directive.
- The Cayman Islands’ competent authority for tax cooperation
arrangements is the Tax Information Authority, established in 2005 under
the Tax Information Authority Law (2005), the law introduced to provide
for effective international cooperation in tax matters. More information
on the Authority and its operations can be found on www.tia.gov.ky.

Source: Cayman Islands Government

Ted Bravakis, Director, Public Relations Unit of Portfolio of Finance & Economics, +1-345-244-2266, or ted.bravakis at gov.ky, for Cayman Islands Government